By Walter Villa, Special to STU
Organizers might as well call it the STU Mock Trial Competition.
Students from St. Thomas University’s Benjamin L. Crump College of Law traveled to Orlando late last month and won the prestigious Chester Bedell Memorial Mock Trial competition for the third straight year.
This time, however, there was a dramatic twist at the end as STU won more than just first place.
They won second place, too, competing in an incredible all-STU final.
That meant that law schools such as the ones from the University of Miami, the University of Florida, and Florida State University were completely shut out of the championship round in a competition hosted by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar.
“I am immensely proud of our STU Law trial team for their remarkable achievement,” said Tarlika Nunez-Navarro, who is the Dean of STU’s law school.
The four STU students who argued on the winning team at the Chester Bedell competition are: Alyssa Fleischer; Erica Torres; Megan De Guzman; and Ken Racicot. All four of those students are graduating this year.
“Megan is the most dedicated and hardest worker I’ve ever met,” said Racicot, a 24-year-old Massachusetts native who had praise for all three of his teammates. “Alyssa is an incredible leader who always kept our team focused and motivated.
I had competed with Megan and Alyssa before. But it was great competing with Erica for the first time. She was the missing piece and the best co-counsel I could have asked for.”
Aside from that quartet, STU’s four second-place students — Sophia Borrello; Amanda Alfonso; Alyssa Levy; and Irene Sanchez – were also exceptional.
They were so exceptional, in fact, that Borrello and Alfonso were named “Best Advocates” for the entire competition.
Borrello, a 22-year-old native of Miami who aspires to practice criminal defense at the Miami Public Defender’s office, said the Chester Bedell competition was tense.
She said she felt “overwhelming pressure,” but, she added, it was also incredibly fun.
“The most pride I felt was when they announced it was an STU vs. STU final,” Borrello said. “We all started crying tears of joy.
We knew, at that moment, that we had achieved our goal, and our dream came true. … We have a one-of-a-kind team at St. Thomas, and I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
De Guzman, a 26-year-old Miami native, also talked about that moment when STU had eliminated all other competitors.
“Right after both of our teams had finished the semifinal round, all eight of us (STU law-school students) sat at a table, holding hands and anxiously waiting for the advancing teams to be announced,” said De Guzman, who has accepted an offer to join the Miami Public Defender’s office upon graduation and passing of the bar.
“We looked at each other with pride, but we weren’t truly prepared for the rush of emotions that hit us when they made the announcement.
That moment was unforgettable, but finding out that we won the entire competition made all the late nights and endless preparation worth it because our team got to take the trophy back home to where it belongs – St. Thomas University.”
A major part of that team is professor Houson Lafrance, who serves as the advisor.
Lafrance has given his students a multitude of tips.
For example, one of his students, the aforementioned Amanda Alfonso, recalls one of Lafrance’s motivational pearls of wisdom:
“Trophies are earned at practice and picked up at competition,” Alfonso, a 24-year-old native of Miami, said while quoting Lafrance. “That is why we practice six days a week. That is why we sacrifice our weekends and social outings.
And that is why we win.”
In addition to the guidance of Lafrance, four lawyers who graduated from STU – Michael Rizo, Gabriela Espaillat, Vanessa Guiracoche and Valentina Grizales – served as coaches.
All four of those coaches were on past STU teams that won the Chester Bedell competition. In fact, Rizo was named “Best Advocate” in 2023, and Grizales won the same award last year.
Espaillat, who is the Associate Faculty Advisor for the trial team, said she was amazed by her students.
“The level of advocacy they showed is higher than a lot of practicing attorneys I’ve seen,” Espaillat said. “Our team was perfect.
Something that stood out to me was that this was (the aforementioned) Irene Sanchez’s first competition, and yet the level of talent, skill, and professionalism she showed was remarkable. It’s something I haven’t seen in a long time.”
Sanchez, a 26-year-old Miami native set to graduate in 2026, said she was initially nervous.
“But my teammates never let me feel like I was anything less than an equal,” Sanchez said. “They encouraged me and challenged me. They helped me grow in ways I never expected.
Competing at Bedell, I discovered a side of me I never knew existed. When I first started practicing, I lacked confidence. But through weeks and weeks of practice, and the guidance of our coaches, my confidence grew.
This was a life-changing experience for me.”
Lafrance, meanwhile, also credited Dean Nunez-Navarro, who came to the STU team’s dinner prior to the start of the competition.
“The Dean gave us words of encouragement,” Lafrance said. “It meant a lot to the coaches, students and myself.”
As for the competition, Lafrance called it the “Florida Super Bowl for mock-trial teams.”
In addition to Miami, Florida State, and Florida, several other schools from around the state were represented, including FIU, Stetson, Jacksonville, and Barry.
All of them were defeated.
In fact, when the all-STU final was announced, students and advisors from some of the other schools were heard to remark: How do they (STU) keep doing this?
“It’s rare, it’s impressive, and it’s validating,” Lafrance said. “We have a heck of a program at STU.”
You will get no argument on that point from Fleisher, a 24-year-old native of Virginia who was raised in Orlando.
“The best part of Bedell is that people know who we are,” said Fleisher, who is the president of the trial team. “We are the returning champions. It was special to be a part of a legacy – bringing another trophy back to STU.”
Fleisher has already accepted an offer from the Broward County Public Defender’s office, making her yet another success story to come out of this program.
Levy, a 25-year-old Miami native, said that winning the Bedell trophy was an “unforgettable” experience.
“Returning to the very competition that first ignited my passion for advocacy was a full-circle moment,” Levy said.
“Something that sets STU’s trial team apart is our love for the process. We showed dedication and grit in upholding our standard, which is: ‘Excellence demands consistency’.”
Similar to Fleisher, Levy remarked that “now these so-called big schools know exactly who we are – the standard.”
Levy added that professor Lafrance’s words – “why not us?” – pushed her through every challenge, every round, and every time she stood up to advocate.
Through it all, these eight STU students remained close.
“Even though we were in two separate pods, we carried ourselves as one STU team,” Levy said. “We never started a round without a team prayer, and, with each announcement, we never fully celebrated until we knew both of our pods had advanced.”
Torres, a 26-year-old native of Miami, said she will never forget the moment it was announced that the final would be STU vs. STU.
“It was emotional, surreal and special,” Torres said. “It was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.
We made history. We left our mark on the school.”
